Welcome to my living textbook on new media writing!

Politics

While hashtags on social media can be overdone commentary (#yolo, #blessed, #tbt) or topical aggregators (#poetry, #healthyrecipes, #diy), they also can give individuals access to an international dialogue about an issue they care about. The questions of what means to be patriotic, how we should protest injustices, and how we should express political discontent all were linked by one hashtag over the weekend, #takeaknee.

Why this is important is because our articulated experiences say something larger when they are aggregated with others in the public sphere. In The Public and Its Problems, Dewey states publics form when individuals gather to discuss adverse effects to government policies and activities: “Indirect, extensive, enduring and serious consequences of conjoint and interacting behavior call a public into existence having a common interest in controlling these consequences” (126). One could argue that hashtags call a public into existence.

I would like to take a moment to highlight the variety of perspectives present, which enriched and deepened the conversation that began when Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem. Eric Reid, one of the first to join Kaepernick in his protest, statedin the New York Times, “After hours of careful consideration, and even a visit from Nate Boyer, a retired Green Beret and former N.F.L. player, we came to the conclusion that we should kneel, rather than sit, the next day during the anthem as a peaceful protest. We chose to kneel because it’s a respectful gesture. I remember thinking our posture was like a flag flown at half-mast to mark a tragedy.” The protest, of course, being against police brutality against African Americans.

This protest was partially reawakened by President Trump’s remarks at a rally in Alabama.

If we approach these conversations, not to reaffirm our own beliefs, but to listen to the varied experiences of others, we can deepen our understanding of an issue and develop a course of action or at least develop the empathy to have a meaningful conjoined conversation rather than isolate ourselves in echo chambers. Unfortunately, we are now hashtagging our filter bubbles and missing out on the true dialogue needed for a functioning democracy. In response to #takeaknee, the #IStand hashtag was formed.

When you look at these two opposing conversations together, I see the positives and negatives behind taking such a controversial means of protest. On the positive side, the protest has garnered much attention and it is a peaceful means of protest, as opposed to a torched march. On the negative side, it challenges a dogmatic belief, which people want to defend. And through their defense, their beliefs become further entrenched and the possibility for productive conversation lessens. This, of course, is frustrating.

People saying #IStand in this context are literally counter-protesting a protest of police brutality. You stand . . . for police brutality.

We cannot ignore these conversations. My newly minted 9-year-old son came home from football practice Monday night scandalized by the actions of the NFL. Even at the third- and fourth-grade level, they play the national anthem before the games and stand respectfully. Rather than force my own perspective on the protest, I tried to explain both sides of the issue to my son, so that he could both understand his teammates desire to stand and also support those who may choose to kneel. At this point, I feel the most valuable civic skill I can teach him is to understand multiple points of view, not just mine. However, it can be difficult at times to listen in the inflammatory world of social media.